Car-coupling.



J. & W. KELSO.

GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.2.1913.

1,094,721 Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.,\vAsnmuTON. D. c.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

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UNI ED STATES PATEN JOSEPH KELSO AND WILLIAM KELSO, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG-NORS TO MCCONWAY 82; TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPO- RATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH KELso and \VILLIAM KnLso, citizens of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

()ur invention relates to the construction of car couplers of the twin jaw U. C. B. type, and its primary object is to produce simple. easily operated and efficient devices, borne by the coupler head and extending beneath the same, for controlling the unlocking of the coupler from the side of the car and for preventing an accidental unlocking movement of the coupler look, as well as for preventing undue vibration of the lock-actuating devices when the coupler is in service. These several objects are accomplished by the combination of elements hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings illustrating our invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims, Figure 1 is a plan view of a car coupler embodying our invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the coupler; the relative positions of the lever and its catch when in locked position being shown in full lines, and the position of the catch when rotated to release the lock act-u ating lever being shown in dotted lines; and Fig. a is a front elevation of the coupler showing the positions assumed by the parts when the coupler is unlocked.

e will now proceed to describe our invention more fully, so that others skilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the same.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the coupler head, 2 the knuckle pivotally mounted thereon by means of a knuckle pin 3, and at a vertically movable gravity look by which the outward rotation of the knuckle is restrained. Formed upon the outside of the coupler head, and preferably upon the knuckle side thereof, are downwardly projecting perforated lugs 5 and (S which receive a pivot pin T that serves to rotat-ably secure the lock actuating lever 8 between them. These Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 2, 1913.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

Serial No. 739.678.

lugs 5 and (3, as shown, are preferably so formed and arranged as to locate the point of pivotal connection of the lever 8 with the coupler head 1 well below the center of the head and to the rear of the lugs which receive the knuckle pin 3. Pivotally mounted upon the coupler head 1 by means of the lugs 5 and 6 and the pivot pin 7 is a vertically oscillating bell-crank lever 8 whose lower arm, 8, extends under the coupler head and far enough below the same to permit said lever arm to engage the coupler lock 4 and move it to unlocked position. As will be seen upon reference to Figs. 3 and at of the drawings, the arms of the bell-crank lever 8 are so related to its pivotal point that the lever has a constant tendency or bias to gravitate toward and remain in the locked position illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Mounted upon the upper arm 8 of the bell-crank lever is a catch 9 which is movable with and also independently of the lever 8. In mounting this catch upon the bell-crank lever it is preferred to secure the same to the upper end of the lever arm 8' by means of a pivot pin 10 that passes through the lever and through correspondingly perforated pivot lugs 9, 9 which embrace the lever and are integrally united to the catch 9. To limit the extent of rotation of the catch 9 with respect to the lever 8 and also for the purpose of providing means whereby the unlocking lever may be rotated on its pivot 7 through force applied to the. catch 9, the latter is preferably provided with stops or shoulders 9 and 9 which are adapted to respectively engage corre sponding stops or abutments 8 and 8 formed upon the bell-crank lever. If desired the upper arm 8 of the lock actuating lever may also be provided with a projecting lug 8 which, by engaging the Wall of the coupler head 1 arrests the locking rotation of the lever S as the locking member or hook 9 of the catch 9 moves into locked position behind the corresponding locking face or abutment 1* formed upon the coupler head 1.

In order to lead the hook 9 of the catch into locked position behind the catch-locking face 1 of the coupler the coupler head 1 is preferably provided adjacent to the locking face 1 with upwardly extending guide lugs 1 and 1 which flank the face 1 As more particularly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the uprounded or beveled in order mainly to direct the catch 9 to its d p tion. "lhe outer face of no catch, as well. as ortion l." or the coupler head in with the locking face 1. is also rounded or beveled, as illustrated I i so as to permit the book 9 to readily re up over the surface 1 of the head and tall behind the locking face 1 when too catch 9 is moving to locked position.

is a means of actuating the catch 9 and hell-crank lever B trom the side Ofl the car it is preterrcd to t-u'iplov a transversely lending slidalilo bar .11 havii'ig at its inner ifl eve ll. which receives a curved lug r 9" that formed upon the catch 9 wads above the locking i'uembcr or thereof.

this minstruction itaciliconncction of the slidable uncoupling bar 11 to the catch i); and it will also be noted that the location ot the curved li; ev 3 and locking hook W on the same side of the vertical passing through the pivotal center 10 of the catch results in utiliving the weight ot the pull rod 11 to assist in maintaining catch 9 in locked position. ll here, as in the case illustrated in the di'awin the lock -l or" the coupler is a vertically slid 1g gravity lock it is preferably provii" l with an integral extension a which piujec s dowivwaivlly through the lower wall of the coupler head and which is provided at its lower end with an aperture 4Q into wh' :li t 1e end of the trzuisverscly extending arm S oi the bell-crank lever 8 projects.

arrangement. will be readily per- (rived. permits the bell-crank lever 8 to move :l'ie lock it in either a locking or an unlocking directiom causes the force of vity due to the weight of the lock to be transmitted to the lever when the lock is moving downward toward locked position and also results 1 'u'eventing the unlocking ot the coupler except by an accompanying r tation ot the bell-crank ui'ilocking lever 8. The opcrati of the devices hereinbefore described is a... follows: suming the several parts to be in their normal or locked posit-ions illustrated in 1, 2 and 3, a pull t rted upon the red 11 will cause the catch disenp upon its pivot pin 10, thus a W og the locking hook 9 of the catch from the or responding locking face or abutll'ltllt l of the coupler head 1. lVhen the uiilockin rotatioi'i of the catch 9 has pro- 1d enough to bring its stop face 9 ment with. the stop 8 at the uppr end t' the bell-crank lever 8, as indicated in d ed lines in l? 3, the continued pull upon the uncoupling 11 causes the catch 9 and attached lever 8 to turn together around the pivotpin T of the lever as a center, thus causing the lower lever arm 8 to force the lock t to execute an unlocking movement, as illustrated in Fig. l The force of gravity acting on the lock i and associated loclcactuating devices will cause the parts to return to the locked position .ll()'\\'ll in Figs. 1, 2 and 2-, when the pull upon the rod ll. is released and the lock is tree to reassume a locked position; but it by reason of the presence of dirt, ice or the like the parts should fail to return to locked position when they properly should do so, it will be seen that they may be caused. to positively move to their respective locked positions by pushing upon the rod or bar 11, the engagement: of the shoulder 9 of the catch with the corresponding stop shoulder 8 ol the bell-crank lever 8 enabling the force thus applied by the bar 11. to the catch 9 to be transmitted to the lever 8 so as to cause the latter to perform a locking rotation which will return the knuckle lock or the coupler to locked position. In returning to locked position the bell-crank lever 8 rotates upon the pivot pin 7 until arrested by the engagement of its projecting lug 8 with the coupler head 1, and the looking member or hook 9 oi? the catch 9 falls into locked position behind the corresponding locking abutn'ient 1 of the coupler head. is heretofore explained, an accidental unlocking of the coupler is impossible when the parts are in this position for an unlocking movement of the coupler lock is necessarily accompanied by a rotation. of the lever 8; but such rotation is prevented by the catch 9.

We claim:

1. In a car coupler, the combination with the coupler head knuckle and coupler lock, of a lever mounted upon the outside of the coupler head and pivot-ally connected to the same, a catch pivotally mounted on one arm of the lever and means for rotating the catch on its pivot independently of the lever and for simultaneously rotating the catch and lever about the pivotal connection oil the lever with the coupler head, said lever having an arm which engages and actuates the coupler lock and said catch and coupler head being provided with locking means for preventing rotation of the lever in one direction until after disengagement of the said locking means of the catch and coupler head.

2. In a car coupler, the combination with the coupler head, knuckle and coupler lock, of a bell-crank lever pivotally mounted upon the outside of the coupler head and having one of its arms extending transversely oi the coupler head to engage and. actuate the coupler lock, a catch pivotally mounted upon the other arm of the lever and means for rotating said catch both with and also independently oi"; the lever, said catch be ing provided with a locking member and said coupler head being provided with a corlOO responding locking face, and said catch and pivotally mounted upon the upper end of lever being provided with eo-acting stops which limit the rotation of the catch with respect to the lever in one direction.

3. In a car coupler, the combination with the coupler head, knuckle and coupler lock, of a lever mounted upon the outside of the coupler head and pi votally connected to the same, a catch movably mounted upon one arm of the lever, said catch being provided with a locking member and said coupler head being provided with a corresponding locking face, means for limiting the movement of the catch with respect to the lever, means for rotating the catch and lever in either direction about the pivotal connection of the lever with the coupler head, and means for connecting the coupler lock and lever So as to permit the lever when moved in one direction to apply force to the coupler lock for moving the latter to unlocked position and when moved in the opposite direction to apply force to the coupler lock in an opposite direction.

4:. In a car coupler, the combination with the coupler head, knuckle and coupler lock, f a bell-crank lever mounted upon the outside of the coupler head and pivotally con nected to the same, one arm of said lever extending under the coupler head and being loosely connected to the coupler lock and the other arm of said lever extending upwardly from the pivotal point of the lever, a catch l l l l i l i the upwardly extending lever arm, and an operating bar loosely connected to said catch and adapted to rotate the same, said catch being provided with a locking member and said coupler head being provided with a corresponding locking face, and said catch and 0 lever being provided with means for limiting the rotation. of the catch with respect to the lever.

In a car coupler, the combination with the coupler head, knuckle and coupler lock, of a bell-crank lever mounted upon the outside of the coupler head and pivotally connected to the same, one arm of the lever engaging the coupler lock to actuate the latter,

a catch pivotally mounted 011 the other arm of the lever, said catch and coupler head being provided with locking means for preventing an unlocking rotation of the lever until after disengagement of said means, and means for moving said catch independ ently of said lever, said lever and catch having a bias to rotate in the same direction.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH KELSO. WILLIAM KELSO.

Witnesses J. \V. HARTLEY, F. D. ECKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

